Theirs certain American cars i'd buy because of their styling not quality caddy's mustang, camero & vette, chargers hellcat or challenger , jeep any american truck. But i know that none of them will last like a foreign car benz , bmw and jag & porsche. or have the safety personal protection systems. Chrysler products are terrible in accidents all of them. The American vehicle longevity isn't their and never will be . Maintenance is less costly and for high performance and modding theirs no comparsion to american muscle for power and inexpensive modding not like foreign cars MONEY MONEY to get 10 extra hp . I've got a 17yr old 1998 XJ8 that runs better now than new 114,000 miles and doesn't miss a beat . Find me a 1998 caddy or Lincoln period that runs well that driven every day ?

 

I'm like you, in that this is my first experience with MB so we'll definitely see how it goes. So far so good

 

I've been an MB owner for 6 months now. This is my first non-Japanese vehicle. I've never owned an American car.

I plan on keeping my MB until it rests in peace.

 

I will say that if I were in the market for a truck, for sure it would be an F150. But I would not touch a sedan from any of the domestic producers.

 

I have to say that my luck with GM trucks is very very good. I had a 1996 GMC Suburban for 17 years and it was wonderful and reliable, it was part of the family; the wife cried when we traded it since our children grew up traveling in it on vacation and all sorts of team sports.

 

You're mixing your metaphors as it were. You described a Chevy power train but a Ford car. ;-)

A Ford drive train would have been a 302 or a 351 (Cleveland or Windsor) and a C4 tranny (maybe a C6, but I think they were just for 390/428/429 big blocks).

You probably had a 351 Windsor w/ a C4 if I were to guess. Though it has been many years since I knew such things. lol

 

I'm the opposite on this one... I think if you can do your own work, an American car has a tremendous advantage in part costs. Ford, Dodge, Chevy, the parts are generally available, and if you need a dealer part, yes, they rape you, but very gently. And there are still salvage parts widely available.

In my experience with Nissan and Toyota, the cars are more reliable, but generally have less of "something", usually that something is soul, but when they do break the parts cost twice as much. so it's kind of a wash (on money, but breaking less is certainly winner in the PITA points). And if you don't do your own work, at least there are plenty of decent mechanics for domestic or Japanese cars.

With the euros, they tend to be more exotically engineered.. so they tend to break more spectacularly when they do break.... and they rape you hard and without lube on the parts. And if you don't do your own work? Man, that's gonna bleed.

So for me, especially as I really don't HAVE to work on my own car, but can somehow never disconnect myself from the knowledge of what's involved and what it SHOULD cost... first 5 to 8 years is about my limit on a Euro.

I've had decent luck on Fords. And one dud.

But it seems no matter the mfr, 6 to 8 years, and 100k miles and something is gonna break that just isn't worth fixing. I could have fixed most of the ones I got rid of, but honestly, it would have been a real burden. A few died far from home.

72 Maverick - Bought it for $225, drove it 55,000 miles, brakes 3x, tie rods, radiator 2x, starter solenoid every other day it seems, but it just wouldn't die. Eventually I blew a 3rd radiator, and just parted it out for $180. Oh yeah, and the water pump on the side of the road in Ohio in January. What fun that was. I remember I had two "tools" I kept in the car. One, a 16oz glass pepsi bottle to whack on the battery terminals so it would start. And the other, a 6" bent coat hanger wire I would short across the starter solenoid while working the throttle with the other hand to get it to start when the solenoid would be flaky for the 4000th time. I used to start it and put it in gear with the emergency brake on, because it took a few minutes for the tranny to warm up and build pressure. We won't discuss rust. Shew. Don't step down too hard. You might break off the only thing keeping water from splashing up on your feet.

79 Pinto was probably the most bulletproof. Just couldn't seem to hurt that thing. Trust me, I tried ;-) Eventually traded it.

89 Ranger. Bought new. Around 5.5 years and 110k miles. Blown head gasket - sold it as is.

95 F150 4x4. ugh. Cool truck, but had issues. U-joints rumbled. Lockouts were wonky. And a couple other issues. Traded it at 18 months before the 24mo warranty ran out.

96 Eagle Talon AWD. Zippy! Really fun car. Ended up pulling the tranny out and apart and replacing the brass 4/5 synchro at around 45,000 mi. The shaft nut had backed off (folding washer not folded at factory). Blown clutch around 70k. Front wheel fell off shortly thereafter (I guess that's what I get for having someone else do the clutch?) Water pump around 90k. Engine ate itself for lunch around 115k. sold it as is.

OH YEAH! I forgot the great white beast! 86 Dodge B350 post office van. I put the 3rd 360 in it and added the class 3. Had to calculate ratios and buy a speedo driven gear b/c the tranny was already from a 76 dodge pickup when I got it and the speedo was off by like 15 at 65. I had to be over 300k when I bought it. Drove that thing 60000 miles or more. Did more crazy roadside repairs in in the middle of nowhere on that truck... belts, broken brackets, power steering pump, fuel pump, brakes disentegrating and catching on fire in Brooklyn, you name it. Carburetor even. That thing was an "adventure" to say the least. Always, Always, ALWAYS carried REAL tools. Everywhere. And not just a couple wrenches. Like 50 - 60 lbs of tools. But that truck did some real work too. Pulled race trailers full of motorcycle and barrels of water, pulled 12,000 gross across the mountains moving stuff between Ohio, NY, NJ, SC, etc. Pulled a lot of trailers of scrap. and hauled a lot of building materials. No AC. No sound deadening. My ears would ring all night after a 8 hour interstate haul. Ahh the days when you could buy an American iron long block for $800.

98 Honda Civic hatchback. 3yr off lease. Almost zero repairs. until... blown head gasket at 110k. sold it as is.

hm. 06 Freestar. 3 yr off lease. Beat the hell out of it doing renovation projects. Tranny died around 95k. Coil packs around 108k. What a pain that was, had to take half the truck apart to get to them. Second tranny died around 115k. sold it as is.

08 CLK63. AMG. A few years old. Need I elaborate? Expensive parts. Expensive labor. Traded it to get SL63.

--------------

now....

15 Chrysler T&C. Much better than the ford in terms of ride and comfort. we will see about reliability buy the power train seems bulletproof based on what I'm hearing. Renovated two houses with it... was (somehow) able to keep it (mostly) clean. It's definitely not suffering to have to drive it.

14 SL63. omg what a car. We will see about reliability, but the M157 engine seems absolutely drop dead bulletproof reliable, and the ABC issues of the r230 seem to be a thing of the past. These are going on 3rd year of production and the r231 forum is a ghost town. White interior is no accident. It's my reminder to myself that I will NO LONGER be getting my hands dirty with my car.

 

I will vouch for a 351 Cleveland motor. Had one in a '74 Mercury Cougar when i was kid in college. Ripped the oil pan off this car, and drove it for about 15 miles with no oil. Replaced the oil pan and drove the car for another 25,000 miles. Engine never burned a drop of oil. I think it must be bullet proof.

 

So many of you have had decent experiences and also love your European cars. I find that to be refreshing that there isn't a set fanboyism amongst our members.

 

I'd like to bring one of these home.....evidently they're starting off around 21K which seems pretty good

 

the again......after further time with google....it seems this isn't really happening

 

This is just amazing. Very often when the oil pressure light comes ON it is already too late. The bed bearings most likely are gone. This is why oil level sensors were put in cars to warn before the low oil pressure does.
And you were able to drive it 15 miles with no oil!!!

 

That, pass. Looks like a. Honda element hit the gym.

 

 

I'd take either just as a show off car in the city. Rarely do you see any monster like those.

 

i would consider the one i posted, and if i did not like it sell.

 

I live in NC and jacked up trucks are nothing out of the ordinary

 

How does that Ford do in the slalom and skid pad?

 

About like the Suzuki Samurai I'd imagine.

 

Or the Toyota 4runner which has the tendency to flip over if you take a turn at faster than 25 MPH

 

I've had mostly American cars, but over the last few years I've bought German, Italian, British and Japanese. I've owned four Corvettes, a Lamborghini, Several Dodges (Challengers old and new, old school Charger). I've had mostly very good cars...a few were crap, sure. But go through this forum and you'll find some dissatisfied people here as well. I didn't start buying foreign cars because American cars were so terribly bad...I did so because I wanted something different. That said, I'm thrilled with my Mercedes and will probably always have one in the stable. Love my Range Rover too. Fantastic car even though I was warned about problems.

I also like the different attitude at the dealerships. You can walk into a Mercedes dealer and not be approached by anyone unless you make it clear you'd like to have a conversation. That's a big thing with me.

Let me make sure I understand: You're not going to buy an American sports car because you don't like the reasons why other people buy them? That's like saying I'll never eat at a certain restaurant because other people say it's good. Have you ever actually driven one for an extended period? Plenty of "sleepers" available in the American car market now. The Dodge Charger SRT comes to mind. It's not up to the sophistication of a Mercedes, but it'll give many AMG's a good run for the money.

I'm not trying to be argumentative...you should buy what you like. But I also wouldn't dismiss a product out of hand simply because of what others say. If I did that, I wouldn't have my Range Rover which I really love.

 

I miss chrome bumpers ,column shifters ,rumble of big thumping V8 engines.We have been driving 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham , that remained only American in the garage .
I hate the way squinted Cadillac headlamps design and believe or not I prefer my dad's Fleetwood over any American no matter how it is tucked into luxurious accessories ,technological gadgets including wifi ,high efficient engines .
American sedans generally should be looking like American not " Europeanesque"
I don't care about two door American coupes they never excite me up
My dad says their '65 Chevrolet Impala was better built than 1996 Cadillac
I am not interested in sedan Americans , may be pick up trucks but if I prefer 4 door sedan over anything else

 

I've got the feeling from many people that when it comes to trucks or pickup trucks that's when they'll look to American makes. I'm not sure what the main European pickup truck is or if their even is one that well known on the market.

 

Thank you for your comment. Growing up in an Italian household and being one, with only Italian sports cars and German luxury sedans, american cars seemed inferior. I posted an earlier response past cars owned that were American that were excellent and lasted a long time. I don't care for any American sports car to me they are garbage don't care how much many will whine to me how much of a mistake it is to say that but that's my stand. Range Rovers have a reputation of being always at the service department.

 

Toyota TUNDRA is the truck to get!! European and the best!